Automatic train-stopping apparatus



F. HANDSCHUH.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN STOPPING APPARATUS.

APP LICATION FILED SEPT. 20, J9I9.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- F. HANDSCHUH.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN STOPPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1919.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- ';g-i;lllllzllllllavlllll omrsn STATES, PATENT -0FF3F%I;.E,.

FRANK I-I ANDS CHUH, OF BUFFALO, NEW

AUTOMATIC TRAIN-STOPPINGAPPARATUS.

menses.

To all "whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, FRANK HANDscHUI-I, a citizen of the United States,-residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented. new and useful Improvements in Automatic Train-Stopping Apparatus, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to an automatic train stopping apparatus for preventing head on and rear end collisions'in casethe engineer should misunderstand or fail to heed the customary block signals or semaphores.

One object of my invention is to provide an apparatus of this character which is simple in construction and reliable in operation.

Another object is to provide reliable electrically-controlled means on the engine of the train for applying the air brakes thereof when the electric circuit has been closed by reason of another train being located dangerously close to the first-mentioned train, said means being capable of installation on engines now in use without-altering their construction.

Further objects of my invention will appear in the following description.

in the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a diagrammatic View of my improved train stopping apparatus, showing two engines equipped with the electrical control-v ling means, and approaching each other. F 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the contact roller and associated parts, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line 33, Fig. 2. .Figfilis a horizontal section on line 4+4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of one of the insulated rail-joints between blocks of the usual signal system. Fig. 6

controlling the application of the air bral zes. Fig. 7 is a similar view at right angles thereto. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing a modification of my improvement as employed at a bridge crossing. Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof, on an enlarged scale, showing the contact device. Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view of another modification of the improvement as employed in connection with a railway switch.

"Similar, characters of reference indicate side view of the electrical means .for'

Specification of Letters Patent. 7 p t t 'd p .7, 1920, Application filed September 20, 1919. Serial No.325,099.

corresponding parts throughout the several vlews. I

By way of example, the apparatus is shown in connection with a single track railroad, although it is applicable to double track roads, as well. i

Referring to Figs. railway track composed of agrounded track 11 and an insulated track 12, therailsof the latter being insulated "at the adjacent ends of the respective blocks, so as to insu late the latter from one another. This may be done in any wellknown mannerybut preferably by inserting fiber, rubber "or other suitable insulating material 13 between theopposing ends of the rails, between the rails and the fish; plates15, and also around the bolts 16 which secure the fish plates to the rails. The ba'ses of the rails and "the fish plates are rigidly held together by clamps 17 -which-pass underneath the rail, thereby preventing thej oints from spreading and loosening the insulating material between the parts under heavy traliic.

The distance between signal blocksmay be greater or less, saycfrorn" two to ten miles each," depending on the nature of the. traffic and the length of thetrains. The blocks. however, must be longer than the lengthof the longest trains traveling over the line,

so that a train, backing up, will not stop itself by my improved stopping mechanism. This apparatus is so designed that an interval of a blocks length or more can be main tained between trains traveling in the same or opposite directions, giving the'trains a safe running distance in which to stop after. receiving the warning signal. p

'In Fig. 1 I have represented diagrammatically and in dotted lines, twoengines 18 and 19 traveling in the direction indicated 'bythe arrows. Each is equipped with electrically-controlled means for opening a valve which admits air from the customary air reservoir to the brake cylinders for,ap-. plying the brakes. The preferred means for producing this result are shown in the drawings andare constructed as follows:

20 indicates an electro-magnet preferably of the solenoid type having the usual core 21, which is arranged to rise within the coil when the same is energized, and to dropby gravity to its normal position, as shownin Figs. 6 and 7, when'themagnet is deener- 17, A indicates the 7 the brakes.

preferably carried by a hinge-pin 46 argized." 22 indicates a handle or lever arranged to swing vertically and carried by a pin 23 secured to a racket 24 mounted on the magnet or other adj ac'ent-support. The hub arranged in the pipe 30 leading from the usual compressed air reservoir, not shown, to the customary air brake cylinders of the train. This valve may be located near the customary engineers valve of the air brake system, not shown. 1 To normally retain this valve in its closed position, I provide a locking shoulder 32, preferably arranged onthe hub'of the lever 22, which engages a tooth or catch 33 projecting upwardly from one end of a-rock lever 34 fulcrumed at 35' to a standard 36 mounted on the electro-mag net. This catch is normallyv compelled to engage the shoulder 32 by a spring 37 interposed between the adjacent arm of said rock lever and the top of the electromagnet. The other arm ofthis rock lever overhangs the magnet core 21 sosas to be engaged thereby when moved upward, to disengage the catch 33 from the shoulder 32 and release the operating lever. V

Means are provided for automatically swinging said lever upwardly when released, inorder to open said brake valve and apply The preferred devices shown in the drawings, comprise a pair of upright links 38 pivoted at their upper ends to opposite sides of the operating lever and at their lower ends to a vertically movable slide 39 guided on an upright rod 40 carried by the electromagnet. Surrounding this rod is a spring 41 interposed between the slide 39 and the lower support 42 of the rod, as clearly shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

Mounted on the buffer beam or pilot 43 of the locomotive is a bracket 44 from which depends a frame 45 adapted for movement in a vertical plane transversely of the locomotive. For this purpose, this frame is ranged horizontally and longitudinally in the bracket and passing through openings 47 in the arms 48 of the frame. Journaled in upper and lower bearings 49 and 50 of said frame,.is an upright contact roller 53. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the inner or rear portion of this roller is inclosed by its frame 45, while its outer or front portion extends beyond the face thereof which is open on its front side to expose the roller, The roller and its bearings are preferably constructed of a material capable of conducting electricity, such as copper or brass, and are in- =-sulated from the roller carrying frame, as

a normally pendant position and prevent swaying thereof due to the motion of the train, springs 58 preferably of flat form are suitably secured to the rear side ofthe bracket 44, so as to bear with their free ends against the rear side of said frame and tend to swing it outward.

. Arranged longitudinally along the outer side of the insulated track 12 at a suitable distance from the adjoining ends of the sig nal blocks are contact rails which coiiperate with the contact rollers, to close the circuit of the automatic train stopping mechanism. When the improvement is applied to a single track railway, said contact rails are duplicated on opposite sides of the signal block junctions, as shown at and 56, the rails 55 of one set coiiperating with trains running in one direction and the'other set cooperating with trains running in the opposite direction. In practice, the contact rails may be located a thousand feet or more from the junctions of the signal blocks, and they are preferably from forty to sixty feet in length and of a height to be engaged by said contact rollers. The contact rails are securely fastened to the track ties 57 in any suitable mannerand at a. sufficient distance from the track rails to be out of the path of any of the train parts, excepting the contact rollers and their frames. As shown in Fig.

1, the contact rails are disposed at an angle succeeding contact rail 55 of the correspond- 7 ing block, and rides over its inner side, as

shown in Fig. 2, under the pressure of its springs 58. After leaving said contact rail 55, the roller and its frame return to their normal upright position and the back of the frame then rides over the outer side of the first contact rail 56, located in the next succeeding block, and as the rear surface of that frame is insulated from the contact roller, it simply moves idly over said last-mentioned contact rail 56 without affecting the controlling circuit and resumes its upright position upon leaving the latter rail 56. The frame 45 thus serves as a shoe as well as a support for the contact roller. The contact rails 55 and 56 recede from the track in opposite directions, as shown, and the contact rollers are adapted to operatively engage them only when approaching them from their diver gent ends. Thelocation of the contact rails with respect to the junctionsof the blocks, should be such that the distance between the amenab e said rails and the block'junctions is-sufiicient to permit a train to come to a standstill, before entering the next succeeding block.

Each contact rail of one'block is electrically connected with the insulatedtrack 12 of a succeeding block, }preferably. the second block ahead of it, by-a suitable electrical conductor 60. That "shown in the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, is arranged longitudinally of and a suitable distance from said track and constructed of angle iron. These conductors may be secured to theties of the track, out of the path of the running gear of the train.

Each engine carries a storage battery 61 or other source of electric current, and in its circuit 62 are arranged the electromagnet 20 which controls theautomatic brake valve 29, and a suitable switch 63 which is normally closed and only opened when the'apparatus is not to be used; for instance, when two engines are coupled together, at which time only one engine requires the use of my improvedmechanism. The wheels and axles of the locomotives and the track-rails form a part of the brake-controlling circuit. 'As shown in Fig. 1, thepath of the current is from the battery to the axle of the engine 18, thence through the wheels 'of said axle and the grounded rail 11 of the track, the wheels and axle of the other engine 19, assumed to be in the second succeeding block from the first-mentioned engine, thence through the insulated rail 12 in said block, conductor 60, contact rail 55, roller 53 on said engine 18,, switch 63, and magnet 20 back to the battery. The closing of this circuit to operate said valve is effected only when a train or other device serving to connect the grounded track with the insulatedtrack is located in the second succeeding block from thetrain traveling in the" same or the opposite direction, assuming that the contact roller on' the last mentioned train has come in contact with its corresponding contact rail. Whenthe circuit is 'not'closed in this manner, said automatic brake'valve is not affected, informing theengineer that the road is clear ahead, regardless of whether he observes the customary block signals and semaphores or not. The contact railsand conductors as here employed are normally outofcircuit. p 1 g It is obvious from the drawings, that the contact rollers of, trains traveling in the direction of the right hand arrow in Fig. 1, are'arranged to coiiperate with the contact rails 55, while thecontact' rollers of trains traveling in the opposite direction are ar-' ranged to cooperate with the contact rails 56. The operation of the system is as follows: Assuming the engines '18 fand 19'to be traveling toward each othergas shown. by

the arrows, with the contact roller of the engine 18 in engagement with the contact rail 55 and the engine 19 running approximately midway ofthe second block ahead of the engine 18. The current from the'battery circuit will then how through the electromagnet on the engine 18, contact roller 53,'contactrail 55, conductor '60, insulated track 12 of the block in which the engine 19 isl'ocate'd, the wheels and axle of the latter, grounded track 11 and the wheels and axle of the engine 18 back to the battery. When said electromagnet is thus energized,its core tripsthe rock lever 34,releasin'g the control lever 22 and causing the same to swing upwardly under the reaction of the springs 11, opening the brake valve '29 and applyin the brakes. The engineer will then shut o the steam and owing to the remote distance said operative contact railis from the junction ofthe respective blocks, the train can-be easily stopped before leaving the block in which it is traveling and before entering the next one.

Assume now, that the engine 18 has been stopped within the required distance and the contact roller of the engine 19 has come into engagement with the contact rail 56in thecorresponding block. The current from the battery circuit, will then flow through the electromagnet of the engine 19, contact roller 53, contact rail 56, conductor 60, insulated track 12' of the block in which the standing train ,is located, the wheels and axle of the latter and back to. the battery, thus completing the circuit and energizing the last-named electromagnet. This causes the opening of the brake valve of the train just mentioned, applying its brakesand permitting it to bestopp'ed before reaching the end of its block, thereby preventing the same from colliding with the other train.

After the brake valve has been automatically opened and the train stopped,- the engineer again closes it by depressing the hand lever 22 to the full line position shown in bviously, one of the contact rollers 53 is arranged at each side of the locomotive.

This improved automatic train stopping apparatus is efficient and reliable in operation and employs no"deli cate"parts which are'liable to get out of -order or to be affected by snow and ice. Furthermore, it can be installed at a m oderate cost and without any material. alterations in either the -railway or the engines.

In Figs. Sand 9,1 have shown the application of my apparatus to a railway bridge, to avoid wrecking or a train in case the bridge is openand the engineer fails to heed the customary semaphore signals. 64 indicates a bridge of the verticallyf swinging type and of any well known construction, the same being hinged at 65to'one of its abutments 66. 'Secured to the latter "is a casing 67 in which is arranged a verticallymovable stem or plunger 68 provided adja cent its upper end with an enlargement or contact member 69, preferably of conical form adapted to engage the conical seat70 of the cover plate 71 of said casing. A spring 7 3, surrounding the stem 68 between the bottom of the casing and the enlargement 69 tends to raise the latter against the plate 71. This plate is made of conducting material and insulated from the casing 67 which is preferably grounded to the track 11, and provided with a terminal 72 adapted to receive the connection from the conductor 60. The stem 68. is normally held down by the bridge engaging its upper end, so that its contact member 69 is out of engagement with the seat 70.

When the bridge is raised to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 9, the contact member 69 engages its seat 7 0 and causes the circuit to be closed atthe bridge, so that a train moving in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 8, and encountering the contact rail 55, will have its brakes autoniaticallyapplied, as described in the previous construction. r r

The apparatus may also be modified to prevent a train from running into an open switch. For this purpose, I employ a'safety device shown in Fig. 10. It comprises a casing Tel to which is fulcrumed a horizontally movable lever 75, the outer arm of which is pivoted to the usual switch operating link or member 7 6. This casing is preferably grounded to the track or other convenient part. Pivoted on opposite sides of this lever are contact arms 77, 78, which are provided with springs 79 for normally pressing the same against contacts 80 and 81 fixed to the bottom of said casii'ig and connected by conductors 82, 83 with the contact rails 84. The inner end of the lever is provided with oppositely disposed fingers 86, 87, which are adapted to engage the respective arms 77, 7 8 for disconnecting the same from their corresponding contacts and thereby opening the circuit.

In the operation of this embodiment of the invention, when the switch is open, as shown in Fig. 10, the arm 77 engages its contact 80, so that a train moving toward the switch and engaging the contact rail 84 causes the battery circuit to be closed thereby opening the automatic'brake valve;

and applying the brakes, as previously described. If, however, the switch is closed, the circuit will be broken at the contact and thetrain stopping mechanism will be unaffected, indicating to the engineer that all is well, if he failed phore signal.

I claim as myinvention: I

1. The combination with a railway block signal system, of an automatic train stopping apparatus comprising brake controlto heed the semaling means, a contact rail arranged adjacent to the track and at an angle thereto, an electric conductor connecting sald rail with one of the track sections in another block,

ling means, pairs of angularly disposed contact rails arrangedalong the track-rails remote from the junction of the blocks, the contact rails of each pair receding in opposite directions from said track rails, electric conductors each'connecting the contact rail of one block with one of the track sections of another block, a contact member carried by the train and arranged to 0peratively engage said contact rails only when approaching those ends thereof farthest from the track-rails, electric circuits each including said track rails,,said contact rail and said contact member, and electrical means on the train. included in said circuit for actuating said brake controlling means.

3. The combination with a railway block signal system, of an automatic train stopping apparatus comprising brake controlling means, pairs of angularly disposed contact rails arranged along the track-rails remote from the junction of the blocks, the contact rails of each pair receding in opposite directions from said track rails, electricconductors each connecting the contact rail of one block with one of the track sections of another block, a laterally movable device carried by the train and having a, conducting member arranged to engage one side of said contact rails when moving in one direction and to engage the opposite side of said rails when moving in the other direction, electric circuits each including said track rails, said contact rail and said conducting member, and electrical means on the train included in said circuit for actuating said brake controlling means.

4. The combination with a railway blocksignal system, of an automatic train-stopping apparatus comprising brake-control ling means, an electric circuit, means included in said circuit for actuating said brakeecontrolling' means, a contact rail arranged beside the track and forming a terminalof said circuit, and a laterally movable contact device carried by the train and arranged to engage said contactrail, said contact device forming another terminal of at an angle to the track with its rear end farthest therefrom.

5. The combination with a railway block signal system, of an automatic train-stop ping apparatus comprising brake controlling means, an electric circuit, means included in said circuit for actuating said brake-controlling means, a contact rail arranged beside the track and forming a terminal of said circuit, an insulated laterallyswinging frame mounted on the train, a contact roller journaled in said frame and arranged to engage said contact rail, said roller forming a terminal of said circuit, and a spring acting on said frame and tending to hold the roller against said contact rail.

6. The combination with a railway block signal system, of an automatic train stopping apparatus comprising brake control ling means, angular contact rails arranged along the track-rails remote from the junctions 'of the blocks and receding in opposite directions from said tracks,-electric conductors each connecting the contact rail of one block with one of the track sections of another block, an electric circuit including said track rails and conductors, a laterallymovable frame supported on the train, a contact roller carried by said frame and adapted to operatively engage one or the other of said contact rails according to the direction of travel of the train, and means mounted on the train and included in said circuit for actuating said brake controlling means.

7 The combination with a railway block signal system, of an automatic train stopping apparatus comprising brake controlling means, angular contact rails arranged along the track-rails remote from the junctions of the blocks and receding in opposite directions from said tracks, electric conductors each connecting the contact rail of one block with one of the track sections of another block, an electric circuit including said track rails and conductors, a laterallyyieldable frame supported on the train, a contact roller carried by said frame, insulated therefrom and included in said circuit, said roller being arranged to ride along the inner sides of said contact rails from the ends thereof farthest from the track-rails, and said frame being arranged to ride along the outer sides of the contact rails from the ends thereof nearest the track rails, and means mounted on the train and included in said circuit for actuating said brake controlling means.

FRANK HANDSCHUH. 

